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Sunday, February 27, 2011

BD impressions: Thelma & Louise

10:05 PM / BD Impressions / 1 Comment

The film: And now it's time for episode #436 of "Michael catches up with a significant movie he's never seen before"... Well actually, I did see the final 20 minutes of THELMA & LOUISE on TV years ago, but knowing how everything would turn out in the end really didn't spoil my enjoyment of Ridley Scott's "chick flick", which manages to be surprisingly uplifting for a film that's ultimately about... nope, sorry, no spoilers today.

In the audio commentary accompanying the film, Scott disavows the notion that he is in anyway a feminist filmmaker, despite claiming that the film itself has a "feminist subject". Still, he describes Ripley in ALIEN as something of a forerunner for Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon's characters in this film, and it's tempting to see what is superficially a "girl power" movie as the culmination of something that started back in 1979 with what is in my opinion one of the most progressive films ever made from a gender perspective (although its progressiveness stemmed primarily from its disavowal of the concept of gender conventions - for Thelma and Louise, being women is a major part of their identity).

I was slightly surprised by just how laugh out loud funny the film is on occasions. Scott is not exactly known as a "funny" director, and while it's true that most of the laughs originate from Callie Khouri's script, Scott on numerous occasions shows himself to be adept at comic timing with the deft editing her employs. It may be somewhat removed from its director's usual sensibilities, but in terms of its look, it's pure 80s Ridley Scott. Lens flares, murky blue-tinted interiors and smoke up the wazoo rub shoulders with striking desert vistas make this arguably the most visually striking chick flick around, and ultimately help to make this a real triumph on every level. Now I really need to seek out THE DUELISTS... 9/10

Image quality: In terms of the presentation of Ridley Scott's films on BD, the pattern goes something like this: if Scott supervised and/or approved the transfer, expect great things (à la ALIEN and the re-release of GLADIATOR), but if he had nothing to do with it (as with HANNIBAL and the initial release of GLADIATOR),* expect to be disappointed. THELMA & LOUISE is a lot closer to the former than the latter, and while there's no indication as to whether or not Scott had any say in the new HD master, I'm going to assume its probable, particularly given the keen interest he takes in home video releases of his films. Detail isn't always razor-sharp, but I assume that's mainly down to the soft focus of the photography. At any rate, the grain is plentiful and natural-looking, the compression is handled very well, and there's no sign of ringing, edge enhancement and the like. All in all it's a fine presentation, albeit one that falls slightly short of the likes of ALIEN. 8/10

* I should clarify: while I assume Scott was involved in the creation of these films' masters, they were done over a decade ago, intended for standard definition viewing. Slap old and technically subpar material on to a BD without involving the director, and the results are unsurprisingly disappointing.

Thelma & Louise
studio: 20th Century Fox/MGM; country: USA; region code: A;
codec: AVC; aspect ratio: 2.39:1

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